‘KRISTINE’ AFTERMATH: 160 areas under state of calamity

National

THE aftermath of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine across the country has put 160 areas under calamity affecting 6.7 million people. The death toll also climbed to over a hundred.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Monday, October 28, reported that the most number of places declared a state of calamity is in the Bicol region, with 78, followed by 63 in Calabarzon and 13 in Eastern Visayas.

The Province of Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte, including Albay and Catanduanes, which also both incurred huge damages because of the tropical storm have also declared a state of calamity.

NDRRMC also said that the number of reported fatalities due to the typhoon is 116, with 10 already validated and the rest still to be validated if the cause of death is typhoon-related as per GMA News.

Heavy flooding and landslides are the top causes of death of the casualties.

The number of individuals missing is 39 while 109 were reported injured. 980, 355 individuals were also forced to evacuate their houses due to the inclement weather and had to stay in over 6, 000 evacuation centers.

“Kristine” left flooded areas and debris piling up across the streets due to landslides in different areas, with 676 roads, 96 bridges are currently not passable for motorists.

The same report from NDRRMC stated that over 3,000 houses in the country were damaged because of the typhoon, while 41,533 were partially damaged.

Billions worth of damages were also recorded in agriculture and infrastructure.

According to the Department of Agriculture’s DRRM Operations Center report yesterday, October 27, the number affected farmers is 74, 554. 72, 329 hectares (HA) of agricultural land were affected, from which 26, 800 or 37.05% have no chance of recovery. The value loss in Agriculture is P3.11 billion.(LAO)